


you look so wonderful in your dress (I love your hair like that)

by pirateygoodness



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 16:39:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4884091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pirateygoodness/pseuds/pirateygoodness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>It's just for the night, and it's Skye's first field mission with Jemma since the incident with the Kree stone. It's not like she'd planned it this way.</em> Written for the "fake married/fake dating" challenge as part of operationskimmonsweek, so pretty much what it says on the tin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you look so wonderful in your dress (I love your hair like that)

It's just for the night. 

It's just for the night, and it's Skye's first field mission with Jemma since the incident with the Kree stone. It's not like she'd planned it this way. But when Coulson laid out the op - _Skye, you'll join Simmons as her spouse_ \- it seemed perfectly reasonable. They need to retrieve a device, there's a party, the party will have weapons scans and metal detectors at the door. Jemma's the best person to identify the device; Skye doesn't need to bring weapons to have her back. They'll go as Mrs. and Mrs. Franklin, a pair of up-and-coming fashion and entertainment bloggers. 

Easy. 

 

+

 

They take the Quinjet as close as they can, and then travel the rest of the way in a rented sedan with Mack as their driver. Skye's wearing a dress - black, knee-length, with sparkly beading that starts at the waistline and extends up to one shoulder. It's cute - but more importantly, it's been tested with May to make sure she has enough room to kick someone in the head without splitting any of the seams. (She can.) Jemma's wearing a dress as well, this fifties-inspired thing with a full skirt and a high neckline. It looks _adorable._

Skye tells her as much, while they're moving from the jet to the car, and Jemma blushes. 

 

+

 

On the drive out, Jemma's quiet. Which isn't a bad thing - it's fine if she's quiet - but what does bother Skye is the fact that Jemma's quiet and _nervous_. Her jaw is clenched tight, and every time she goes to move her hands, Skye can see them shaking. They're not supposed to be a couple yet, but Skye reaches over and puts her hands on top of Jemma's, stilling them. 

She looks up, gives Skye a half-hearted smile. 

Skye feels like she should say something. They don't need to go over the mission parameters - they're not exactly complicated, and _what's new_ is kind of a fraught topic, what with - what's new. So instead, she says, "Hey, how do you think we met?"

Jemma frowns. "What?" 

"For our cover. How do you think we met?"

It's a distraction technique, and they both know it. But as they talk, she feels Jemma's hands start to relax underneath hers, notices the way her shoulders start to lower. By the time they're ready to go, putting on their fake wedding rings, it feels like this might actually go alright. 

 

+

 

Things go sideways. 

Sort of. 

The mission doesn't go _badly_ , in some ways. They get the device, they disarm the device and scan specs to send back to HQ. They make it back to the party and manage one slow dance, and Jemma puts her arms around Skye's neck and rests her forehead on Skye's shoulder, which isn't terrible. But the evening ends with a firefight and Skye quaking six armed guards down a staircase, in a way that is neither stealthy nor covert.

Also, they don't make it to the drop site. 

Instead, they make it to a Motel Six, after walking three miles down the highway in heels and dresses. It's also raining, the sort of light drizzle that doesn't feel so bad at first, but builds over time. They're out long enough that, by the time they make it to that motel, they're soaked through. Jemma's hair is plastered to her forehead, making her look bedraggled and half-drowned, and Skye's sure she doesn't look much better. 

(She does her best not to think about the fact that even like this, Jemma's a little attractive.)

Without thinking, Skye checks in as _Marie Franklin_ , smiling, smiling at the sullen overnight clerk like it's completely normal that two women are checking into a hotel room together at 3 AM, soaking wet. He looks from Skye to Jemma and back again, expression blank. 

Next to her, Skye can hear Jemma's teeth start to chatter. She doesn't think about it, she just wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close. "My wife and I have had a very trying evening, and we'd appreciate it if we could get to a room as soon as possible."

The clerk raises an eyebrow. "You got a credit card?"

Skye doesn't, but she's got a gadget for that - one of Fitz's Howling Commando tricks, a card that works in bank machines and matches whatever name she gives it. It does the job, and she takes the room key with as much grace as she can manage. 

As they walk down the hallway to their room, Skye keeps holding Jemma close, well after they're out of view from the front desk. It's partly to maintain their cover, but it's also because Jemma is cold and tired and the skirt of her dress is soaked though, wet against Skye's thigh as they walk. She looks like she needs it, a little. 

 

+

 

The room has four walls, one bed, one bathroom. Skye looks at Jemma, and nods in the direction of the bathroom. "You go ahead," she says, trying not to sound like she feels - like she'd cheerfully murder someone for a hot shower and a change of clothes. "I'll call Mack."

Jemma gives her a tired nod, and smiles at her so gratefully that Skye doesn't feel bad about a few more minutes in wet clothes. 

So she calls the team, and tries not to think about the way water is dripping from her hair and underneath her dress, pooling at the small of her back. (She also tries not to think about the sounds of Jemma peeling off her dress and turning on the shower. She tries not to notice the low moan that Jemma makes, like maybe she just stepped out of the cold air and into warm water.)

She's so busy trying not to think about things, she almost misses it when Mack picks up the phone. 

"You okay?" he asks, with concern in his voice. 

"Yeah," Skye says, forcing her head back to work. "Yeah, I'm fine." 

She arranges a pickup, makes sure to emphasize that there should be dry clothes and food waiting for them on the other side of this. Mack chuckles at her on the other side of the phone, asks, "How's Jemma?"

"Holding up." 

"Alright, well. You take care of her."

"I will," Skye says. She means it. 

 

It's a while before Jemma finishes in the shower. Skye uses that time to check exits, make sure all the tech she had stashed in her bag is dry, and absolutely not think about the fact that Jemma is naked, one room away. 

When Jemma finally emerges, she's wearing a bathrobe - one of the cheap ones that came with the room. It's not the most fashionable outfit, but she looks scrubbed pink and warm and suddenly much more like herself. Her hair is still wet, tangled and half-slicked back, and every so often a stray drop of water drips from the ends of Jemma's hair and onto her collarbone. 

(There's a small trickle of them, water running toward the hollow of her throat and down the V of her bathrobe, and god, Skye needs to _stop._ )

"All yours," Jemma says, motioning at the bathroom. It brings Skye's head back to reality. 

"Right," she says. "I, um, I called Mack. They can't send the jet to the motel parking lot, obviously, but an extraction team will be here in a few hours." 

"Good," Jemma says. 

"You should, um. Try and get some sleep, if you're tired."

Jemma's eyes flick to the bed longingly. "Are you sure? I don't mind waiting up -"

"It's fine. Rest."

 

Skye showers. (She also tries not to think about how she's in a room where Jemma was just naked, because _what is the point of that._ ) The water feels amazing on her back, her legs, slowly bringing her limbs back to a normal temperature. She washes her hair, and maybe she pauses washing her chest and thinks - for a moment - about other things she could take care of in the shower. 

(For the record, she doesn't do anything more than think it.)

Instead, Skye dries off, and slips into a hotel bathrobe of her own. It's scratchier than she expected, and thin, but it's a thousand times better than the thought of trying to put her soaking wet dress back on. 

When she gets out of the bathroom, she realizes that Jemma is curled up on the bed, fast asleep. Her knees are tucked up to her belly, and one arm is flopped across the bed, taking up most of the available space. 

Skye sits on the bed next to her, uncertain. She doesn't want to bother Jemma, but she also doesn't have anywhere else to rest, herself. At the weight of Skye's body on the bed, Jemma stirs, snuggles deeper into her pillow. As she moves, Skye realizes that the fronts of her bathrobe have worked their way slightly open. She's not _trying_ to look, but there's just enough open space that Skye can't help but notice the swell of Jemma's breasts. 

She coughs, trying not to think too much about Jemma or anything that might or might not be under her bathrobe. 

The sound makes Jemma wake fully. "Skye," she murmurs, drowsily. Then she shifts, and one hand flies to the front of her robe. She blushes pink as she tucks her robe more tightly closed, and god, Skye shouldn't find her so attractive when she's flustered. "Did you want me to move over?"

Skye takes a deep breath. She doesn't know what it is - the mission, the fake wedding rings, the way Jemma felt against her body when they danced - but she can't stop thinking about Jemma, and she's supposed to be _protecting_ her, not perving on her. "Sure," she manages. Her voice comes out soft, but a bit rough around the edges, like it gets sometimes when she's turned on. 

Jemma sort of shimmies across the bed, readjusting herself so that there's space for Skye. They end up lying next to each other, Jemma on her side and Skye on her back, a respectful and healthy distance away. At least until Jemma shifts, and her feet slide over so that they brush across Skye's calf. Her toes are freezing. Skye reaches over and rubs Jemma's shoulder. "You ok?"

She means - she doesn't know what she means. She means the mission, she means Skye in bed with her, she means everything. Jemma answers in the immediate. "I'm a little cold, still, but I'll warm up."

"Oh," Skye says. Then she doesn't say anything else. She thinks about hugging Jemma, offering body heat, but she doesn't know if that's for Jemma's sake or her own, and she doesn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. "I could, um. If you're cold?"

She can't see Jemma's face, but she hears her sharp inhale. There's an unreadable note to her voice as she replies. "Well, if it's not - you don't have to."

"No, I just -"

Skye doesn't even know what she just, but Jemma cuts her off before she can finish. "Sure."

"Okay."

Skye slides across the bed, fitting her knees into the curve of Jemma's knees. They've never slept like this before, but Jemma fits into her arms in a way that feels surprisingly comfortable. She rests her nose against Jemma's shoulder, lips millimeters away from her robe, and wraps an arm across Jemma's waist. Jemma wriggles, working her body even closer to Skye's, and suddenly their hips are pressed together and Skye is never, ever sleeping. 

They stay like that for a while - long enough that Skye has time for a hundred thousand inappropriate thoughts - before Jemma moves. She turns over, rolling so that she's still wrapped in Skye's arms, but facing her. It has the effect of putting her nose to nose with Skye. Her robe slides askew again, but she doesn't bother to fix it. "Thank you," she whispers. "For tonight."

Skye grins, tries for a joke. "Which part?" she says. "The running from gunfire, or the part where we ended up stranded on the highway in the rain?"

Jemma's laugh is gentle, intimate as she clarifies. "For keeping me safe."

"Oh. Oh, you're -" Skye stops talking, swallows. Jemma's eyes are so big, and she's so soft in Skye's arms, and Skye _can't stop_ thinking about how nice it is to be with her, like this. "You're welcome," she finally says.

Jemma makes this noise in her throat, this little _um_ that makes Skye's breath catch. Then she wraps her arm around Skye's waist, so that they're pressed together from head to toe, face to face. Jemma's breath is hot on Skye's mouth, and her lips look so inviting and before Skye really knows what's happening, Jemma's kissing her. Her mouth is soft and sweet and Skye's heart feels like it's going to burst, it's beating so fast. 

The kiss deepens - from Jemma's end, and then from Skye's, and it's not like Skye ever really stopped thinking Jemma was sexy, but suddenly she's very much reminded of the fact that she is. Jemma pulls away to take one quick, sighing breath, and the sound of her exhale _does things_ to Skye, low in her belly. She starts thinking about how long it's been since she hung up the phone with Mack, how she's not wearing any underwear, how Jemma's bathrobe fronts have slid apart to reveal a V of skin that extends down to her navel and how that's _important_ -

There's a knock on the door of their room, loud and abrupt. 

Skye and Jemma separate in a scramble, Jemma reaching for the tie of her robe and Skye all but jumping off the bed. It's not suave, not even a little, but she's busy berating herself for not slipping out to scan the perimeter more thoroughly, trying to figure out how she's going to fight whatever's on the other side of that door while she's barefoot in a bathrobe. 

There's another knock, then a voice from the other side of the door. "Housekeeping," someone says. Skye immediately recognizes Hunter's terrible American accent, and relaxes. 

"It's just Hunter," she says. Jemma sighs an _oh_ of relief, from behind her. "Come on." 

Skye offers her hand, and Jemma takes it. 

 

If Jemma doesn't let go until they're back at the Playground, everyone just assumes it's because it was a stressful first field op after being away for so long. If Skye stays close to Jemma, watching her more than she needs to, it's because she's worried and not because she's never found a stolen hotel bathrobe more attractive. 

(And when Skye goes to see Jemma in her bunk, after they've debriefed with Coulson, it's fine if everyone thinks she's checking to see that Jemma's okay.) 

(She is, in a way.)


End file.
